Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

Although I credit Ryan with having made the right decision to marry me twenty-nine years ago,

my life  on the dairy farm wouldn't have been possible without Ryan's parents!

 

 

 

 

Holidays will never be the same without them, but I'm thankful for the memories we have and the stories we can share as we bring others around our dairy farm family table.

 

                                                          Happy Thanksgiving!

Dairymom's Thankful Thursday

With everything else in the garden winding down and drying up, I was surprised to receive the biggest sweet potato I've ever seen   from my friend Joe's garden. It appeared that all the potatoes he planted in the same hill had joined forces to produce one massive  heart shaped  sweet potato. There just wasn't any choice but to   bake it ,slice it and bake a little longer in   a combination of butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and topped with marshmallows for all the 'big' kids in the family.

 

 

 

I'm thankful that Joe is so generous with his produce and for the fact that he gardens just down the road in my in-laws old garden spot that has produced a garden of memories for my family down on the dairy  farm.

Homemade Memories

 The highlight of any summer family gathering during my childhood  was the experience of making homemade ice cream.  The adults would fight over who would get to lick the paddle once the ice cream was made but we children fought for the right to sit on top of the bucket while the adults turned the crank!

I wouldn't trade the memories I have of hand cranked homemade ice cream but I do enjoy the ease of making ice cream with the  electric freezer Ryan and I received as a joint birthday gift! Since  July is  National Ice Cream Month, I've decided to experiment with a few new recipes for homemade ice cream.  Butter Pecan Ice Cream recipe  is from one of my favorite recipe books-Jim Graham's Farm Family Cookbook for City Folks.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

1/4 cup butter
2 cups chopped pecans
7 cups milk,divided
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups sugar
6 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 5.1-ounce package of vanilla instant pudding mix
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter in large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Add pecans. Cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned. Drain and set aside. Combine 1 cup milk, sweetened condensed milk, sugar, and eggs in saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 5 minutes, or until mixture coats back of a spoon. Cool. Stir in remaining 6 cups milk, pudding mix, and vanilla. Add pecans; stir well. Pour mixture into freezer container of a 5-quart ice-cream freezer. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Pack freezer with additional ice and rock salt. Let stand 1 hour before serving. Makes 1 gallon

 

Happy memory making!